> PG&E wants to charge solar power users $80+/month just for the privilege of connecting to the grid

Sounds low to me. What would the payment be on a multi-day (week?) capacity battery for your power draw if you financed it over it's useful lifetime?

Relatively wealthy homeowners using the grid as a subsidized battery are going to actually have to pay a proper amount for the privilege or the grid simply breaks.

That said, I am all for people being able to disconnect entirely from the grid if they so choose. But this means literally cutting the wires to your home. I don't agree with places that effectively outlaw this.

But if you want to be grid-tied, then you need to be paying for its upkeep and the amount of "idle" power generation on standby 24x7 in case you end up needing it with zero notice due to the sun not shining or your equipment failing. The only thing you should be saving money on is fuel costs, which is a fraction of the total price per kWh.

Backup power is expensive. The grid being so reliable for so long has made everyone forget this fact it seems.

Backup power isn't expensive. Just don't use a battery for it, use a generator a generator. You can get one cheaply for a thousand bucks that should last you 20 years. I would expect the power company to have some better economies of scale.